Burr, I was not involved in the decision to move to a software solution. My involvement with Operations (never done it before) began when I volunteered to be on the Ship-It! committee to develop that software into a working solution.? I took the ball and ran with it.? The Club bought the software before I was aware of it.
The Committee was provided with a Timetable for trains which would have run during the era we model, and a listing of the on-layout industries with the products they shipped and the materials they needed.? The Timetable is a critical part of running any of the software (as specifically noted by David in his message, and alluded to by me) and the hard work of laying one out had been done for me!?
Personally, I have Operated on only one other layout (Yard Helper, not involved with any decisions) so I am not familiar with use of CardCards/Waybills.? I do know that the software solution seems much easier to set up a session since I can print out a report showing where the cars should be (left after the last session, corrected by any notes provided by the Conductors/Engineers from the last Session) both by car number (so we can say "Where is this car supposed to be?"), and by location (to verify all cars are in whatever spur).? But without real experience in CardCards/Waybills, I cannot say much.?
I also never worked for a railroad, so all the concepts were new to me.? I did buy a little book "Condensed
Hopefully this explains a little more, although I lack the experience in other ways of Ops.
Phil in gorgeous Young Harris, Georgia, USA
